South Korea said Saturday its daily coronavirus cases exceeded the 30,000 mark for the first time the previous day, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continued to fuel the surge.
Health authorities reported 36,362 new cases for Friday, just days after the daily tally surpassed 20,000 for the first time.
Infections are widely expected to increase further as many South Koreans traveled during the five-day Lunar New Year holiday, which ended Wednesday.
Despite the spike in daily cases, the number of severely ill remains under 300, in sharp contrast to the previous wave fueled by the Delta variant, when the number exceeded 1,000 at one point, according to local media.
The authorities have signaled COVID-19 restrictions can be eased in phases even if infections increase, as long as there are enough medical resources left.
Currently, restaurants are allowed to operate until 9 p.m., while private gatherings are limited to six people per group.
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